Cedar Rapids heart recipient to ride in Tournament of Roses Parade

A former Cedar Rapids high school student will ride in the Tournament of Roses Parade after a stranger saved her life.

It was Valentine's Day, 2014 when then 17-year-old Hailey Steimel underwent a heart transplant. Steimel was born with a congenital heart defect. The organ started to fail months earlier, in August of 2013.

In the near four years since Steimel has become an advocate for organ donation and the Iowa Donor Network.

The nonprofit Donate Life has invited the now 20-year-old and other organ recipients from around the country to help put together, and ride, their annual Tournament of Roses Parade float.

TV9 caught up with Steimel and her family before they boarded a plane for California, Thursday morning. Steimel will spend the next few days helping put the float together, which will not only feature organ recipients but images of organ donors.

Steimel said being selected to advocate for organ donation meant a lot to her. She's thinking about pursuing a career in the field.

"A lot of people say this-- I believe it's true," said Steimel. "If you or your loved one needed an organ transplant, you'd want someone to give to them. Why wouldn't you give to someone else if they needed it."

Steimel isn't going to be focused on the parade, exclusively. She said her family is going to stick around a few extra days and maybe check out Disneyland.

The Tournament of Roses Parade will be broadcast on ABC. You can watch at 10:00 a.m. on TV9, January 1st.